Anbesol and Orajel- Two Pain Relievers for Canker Sores

Cankers hurt no matter what time of the year you get them. Cankers can be brought on from stress, chocolate, citrus and even certain toothpaste containing Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. I've tired everything from Blistex Kanka, milk of magnesia rinse, baking soda and applying tea bags directly onto the canker sores. I have found taking Vitamin C daily does help to reduce canker sores and also help speed up the healing process. Check with a doctor before taking a Vitamin C supplement. In the meantime, while waiting for the sore to heal, there are two products that can help with pain instantly.

First one is Anbesol Oral Anesthetic/Benzocaine 20%. It comes in a clear .41 fl oz bottle with a black cap. There is no applicator on the cap or in the bottle. There are some drawbacks to using a liquid form of medicine. First depending on where the canker sore is, you may end up swallowing more of the product due to too much salavia washing away the medicine. The taste isn't pleasant and may leave the throat feeling dry. Also the product may not sit for very long on the canker sore. Granted a small amount of time will help relieve some discomfort but the longer the medicine is directly on the sore, the longer the relief. There's one inexpensive way to help keep the liquid from shifting around the mouth and is best done when relaxing with a movie or surfing the web to keep the mind off of the pain.

Take a cotton ball and coat the Anbesol liquid all around the cotton. Take note the product may look red before or after taking out the cotton ball. The canker isn't bleeding, it's only the product. Next after coating the cotton, place it directly onto the canker sore. Be warned that the medicine will more than likely cause an instant stinging/burning feeling upon contact. This is normal and in a few moments will start to numb the area around the canker. It may feel uncomfortable at first having a cotton ball in the corner or upper lip of the mouth. It's best to have eating and drinking finished for a while to give the medicine time to work on the canker. When you no longer want the cotton ball in your mouth, simply carefully remove and toss in the garbage. Use up to 4 times daily or as directed by a dentist or doctor.

Orajel makes a lot of mouth products including mouth rinses, pain relievers and teeth cleaners for babies. One item that can be useful if the canker is on the upper or lower lip area is Orajel's Severe Pain Formula Gel. It comes in a white .33 oz tube with the active ingredient also being Benzocaine 20% At first I imagined this gel to be smiliar to Colgate Toothpaste gel but was surprised that it's more of a paste. Again be warned when applying this type of medicine, it will sting/burn at first. I found this product to be good when a canker is on the upper lip where there's less salvia. It helped to numb the pain but it also kept the medicine on during a light meal. With Blistex Kanka, the coating would end up in my food which was unpleasant. Orajel most of the time kept in place giving availablity to enjoy light drinking and eating.

Both products do help with instant pain relief. Depending on where you shop, the costs is around $4.50-$7.99. These products can be found in Walgreens, Kroger, Wal*Mart and online stores such as http://www.drugstore.com